Elastic-fluid turbine.



M. C. WEBER.

ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1913.

- Patented 111116 27, 1916.

a 5 a j N Z & M a a a a a M 9 i SE asa s m M. c. WEBER. ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2.1913.

Patented June 27, 1916.

4 SHEETS SHEET 4.

max c. WEBER, or CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ELASTIC-FLUID TURBINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Ju'n'e'2, 1913.. Serial No. 771,154.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MA C. WEBER, a v

citizen of the United States, resident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio," have invented anew and useful Improvement in Elastic-Fluid Turbines, of which the following is a specification, the

principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

. My invention relates to an elastic fluid turbine, and more particularlyto detailed improvements in connection therewith.

The object is the provision of a turbine which, while economical of manufacture and simple of operation, will prove generally efficient. I

The said invention consists of means which are hereinafter fully described and particularly set forth in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying my invention, the disclosed means,however, constituting but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be disclosed. In said annexed drawings :-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a; turbine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the turbine, partly in section. Fig.3 1s a side elevation, with other parts in seGtion. Fig. 4 is a top plan of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan of onedetail. Fig. 6 is a section on line VIVI of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan of another detail.

F rame-The construction of my turbine comprises a supporting frame A provided on one side with a standard a, and on the other with a hollow annular casing a. The standard a is formed with three bearings a a, a at different heights with respect to each other, and the purpose ofwhich will presently more clearly appear. The annularv casing a is provided below withan opening a in .integral registration with an i opening in the base of the frame. The annular casing is furthermore provided with an opening a near the top thereof, indirect communication with an explosion chamber a alsomounted as an integral construction above, the same. The explosion chamber at is inclosed :within the usualwater jacket a provided with an inlet a? and outlet a Any suitable type of igniter a ,is also seated in the chamber.) as sho n: ina

horizontal communication therewith, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, is a supplychamber a; Beyond the other end of the explosion chamber and adapted to' come Patented June 27,1916.

.. cent the; explosion chamber, and in direct v into communication therewith in a manner ypt to be described is an expansion chamber a is further shaped to form an auxiliary chamber communicating with the interior of the casing through two openings, a" and a". This chamberis located intermediately of the expansionchamber 0. and the exhaust outlet opening a, and is formed with the partition member a adapted to form in said chamber an angular passage having its inlet and outlet openings o and a" respectively spacedsome distance apart, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3.. Mounted above the explosion andsupply chambers a and a are-two additional brackets a and a respectively, provided withbearings a and which are in direct line with the'up= per bearing a on the standard a. The sup- The annular portion a of the frameply chamber'a. is also providedwith a latotherarm provided with a bearing a in line with each of'the bearings 0. a and a. Mounted above'the .supply and explosion chambers, and: as shown, midway of the perpendicular planes thereof, is an u wardly extending bracket t? having rig t and left arms a. and a. These arms are formed with suitable bearings respectively a. and a Aplatea is ositioned in front of the machine,between til supported upon a suitable bracket a. The upper. inclined surface of the-plate a is provided with a lurality',of'notchesaf best seen in Fig. 1-. he function of these notches will be presently manifested.

Rotma-A primary rotor shaft B is horie bearings a and of, and

zontallymounted in the bearing o and two additional bearings a and-a positioned on opposite axial sides of the hollow annuglar casing a, as'clearly'seen inFig. 1. .A splined shaft 0 ishorizontallymountcd in the bearings a and a. is horizontally mounted. in the bearings d, 0., a and a"; The conjunctive purpose of the shafts C and D will bemore fully explained in later paragraphs. Mounted upon v A crank-shaft D vanes b? forming the intermediary comparatonormallv rest against its seat 0'.

tively shallow buckets, alternate of which I will designate as b and b ,'for'the purpose ofa better understanding of certain features of my invention. As mounted within the hollow annular casing a?, the buckets are necessarily adapted to communicate successively with the chamber a, the auxiliary chamber a and the exhaust outlet a", as clearly apparent from an inspection of Fig.

3, and indicated by the arrow designating the proposed direction of movement. The arrangement of the openings a and a is such that they may s imultaneously communicate with alternate buckets. In Fig. 3, these are shown to be b and, b. At the moment of the beginning of such intersection, the intermediary bucket 12 is entirely shut ofi from communication with the auxiliary chamber a. It willbe noted, therefore, that the gases in the rear of the buckets 71 being still under sufiicient compression to expend a very high degree of energy in the form of'velocity, will immediately upon registration of these buckets with the opening a, rush through the latter and expend their-residual energy in the form of velocity against that forward vane, which incloses the advanced bucket If in which the pressure is considerably. less. In this way. a secondary. propulsion is produced just prior to the communication of the buckets with the exhaust opening.

Inlet valve and operating me cham'em.- The suppl chamber a is provided interiorly and immediately beneath its inlet opening a, with an inlet "valve E, adagted onnected to the valve E is a valve stem 8 extending through a suitable stufiing-box, and .continuingupward through the bearing a. The stem is provided with the fixed collars e and ct, and with an intermediary loose collar e normally maintained. in a. position immediately. above the fixed collar e. A helical compression spring 0 is woundabout the stem 6 and is positioned between the fixed collar e and the loose collar. 0. The tendency of this spring is to draw the stem upwardly, and accordingly to hold the valve against its seat. A second helical compression. spring 6 surrounds the spring e, and alsothefixed collar e, and is positioned between'the bracket a and the loose collar c The spring 6', as will be apparent after anpinspection of Fig, 2, necessarily tends to force the loose collar e and hence the fixed collar e and stem 2 downwardly, to open the valveThe loose meaeie suitably cut away intheform'of an arc,

seen in Fig. 6, to permit of itsintersection by the periphery of thejrotor, and in fact to present a precise mechanical fit there with.. The upper'lsurface of the plate F is formed centrally with a depression f, and near the upper end carries a pin rate the explosion'andexpansion chambers. The under surfacezof the valve is provided centrally withaprojection f corresponding with the depression -f'-' in the upper surface of the abutting eplate, forthe obvious purpose of centeringthe valve more securely-in its lowermost openposition, as will-likewise be best understood, from an inspection of Fig. 3. 'Theupper surface of the valve is provided centrally with a perforated yoke f. Connected with the valve f through the medium'of a link i is a stem f extending through a suitable stuffing-box and continuing upward through the bearing a. u

The stem is provided with the fixed coilars f and f", and with an intermediary loose collar i normally maintained in a position immediately above the fixed collar f helical compression spring f is wound about the stem i and is positioned between the fixed collar f and the loose collar 7''. The tendency of this spring is to draw the stem upwardly, and accordingly to hold the valve against the seat. A second helical compression spring f. surrounds thespring f and also the fixed collar 7", and is positioned between the .bracket a and the loose collar f. The spring f tends to force theloose collar f and hence the fixed collar 7 and stem f downwardly to open the valve. The loose collar f is provided with any approved form of forwardly ex' tending lifter arm f. It will now be'manitest that the discharge valve operating mechanism is identical with theinlet valve operating mechanism, and furthermore both valves occupy a, similar position relative to- D, pp it ide of the ;bracket'or?;-

726mm 81 (Z meokanisml change speed a mechanism is "provided for the purpose of transmitting the rotation of the primary A. valve i is loosely mountedupon the pin )9, as a pivot, and in its uppermost position .is' adapted to tightly. engage its seat 7 to sepamechanism may comprise any of the well which is constantly in mesh with a gear 0 mounted directly above and fixedly to the splined shaft C. By raising or lowering the intermediary gear 0 through ;the manipulation, of a lever c best seen in-Fig. 4, whiohis-adapted to be supported in any one ofthenotchesin the. plate a correspondingwwith theaone of the gears G, G, G 'Gfi' onjz the primary shaft B: these latter may be successively brought, into mesh therewith, --andfa rotation of gear 0 and hence'the shaft 0, occasioned. I A second intermediary gear 0 is fixedly mounted upon the splined; shaft C,-and is adapted tomesh with afgear d mounted immediately above and; upon. the crank shaft D. In this mannor, the rotation of the primary shaft 13 ;may be finally transmitted with differing speeds tothe crankshaft D.

Governors-Mounted upon the crankshaft 1) and positione'd between the bearing e and the fgear d, is any approved type of governor H, comprising the reciprocating sleeve It". Fixed to the sleeve h is an angular lever .h provided at its free extremity with a ball construction h adapted to I connect with spark-advancing mechanism, not shown. In this manner, as will be evident, the speed of the turbine may be automatically controlled through the medium of the governor.

Pump.A double-acting pump J is mounted in the rearvof the machine, and may be supported-in an inclined position upon the base of the frame, as best seen in Fig. 1. This pump comprises a main cylinder y" and the inlet duct j and outlet; duct i The inlet duct is provided with an opening j, and surrounding this opening 1s a carbureter' flange 7' adapted. for direct connection with the carbureter. The outlet duct 9' communicates directlywith the open ing e to the supply chamber. 1 The interior pump mechanism proper may be of an de-.

sired construction, and comprises an interior piston, not shown, and an exterior connecting arm i sultably connected with the crank shaft D, as clearly seen-in Fig. '2. In this. manner, the reduced rotation of the crankshaft D is directly utilized to impart a reciprocating action to the pump, as will be' readily understood.

Operating mechanism.-The crank -shaft D is provided intermediately of its bearings a and a with apair of quick action cams, (P, (i located immediately beneath the lifter arms-e f. As will be most.

clearly apparent from Fig. 3, these cams,

during their rotation in the direction of the arrows, are adapted to lift the arms 6 and 7' against the action of thesprings e and springs, and areconsequently adapted to lengthen the life of the valve-operating mechanisms. Attention is directed to the fact that the cams in my valve-operating mechanisms, are adapted to assist in sud- 'denly opening ratherthan suddenly closing the valves. The two cams if arranged to shift laterally, could,-moreover, be readily made to operate respectively, separate inlet and discharge valves mounted relative to separate supply and explosion chambers in turn operatively positioned so. as to cause a reverse propulsion of the rotor.

Operation-The operation is as follows :In starting, the working fluid is Whirled around with the rotor until a cumu lative charge within the explosion chamber is ignited and thus converted into gas having potential pressure. Coincidently the harmonious operation of the parts, because suitably timed, isinitiated. The continued operation of all the parts is thereafter dependent upon a pumping into the supply the free edge of the valve f through the nozzle formation imparted thereby, to the expansion chamber a. Thereafter the gases travel directly into the buckets of the rotor, and more specifically still, directly against the lower, moreadvanced vane of any particular bucket. The given amount of air below the discharge valve is utilized asa cushion-,- by having the explosive gases, in their endeavor to expand past the valve and acquire motion, impinge thereon and during this instant of .expansion acquire velocity. The gases of combustion are accordingly givena; definitely prescribed initial direction, through the nozzle forma-. tion of the expansion chamber, and only "again put under ressure afterthe particu- 1:1!1'6C6lVl11g buc et has passedout of communication'therewith. In case a high speed is desired, the mechanism may be adjusted-180" positive, and hence permits that degree of to open the valve mechanically ahead of the explosion, while on the other hand, if a low speed is desired, the'explosion itself may be compelled to overcome the'resista-nce of the inner spring f. The action of both valve mechanisms in the meantime is furthermore accurate adjustment ,which is required in engines' of this character. Also the position of the abutting plate F with relation tothe periphery of the rotor, and because of vits close mechanical fit therewith, is such that the velocity is necessarily projected only.

downwardly toward the auxiliary chamber a. This chamber is intended to insure a secondary utilization of energy similar to the system employed in engines of the wellknown compound type. If found feasible,

' this effect may be utilized against buckets of a second rotor. In case the rotation on the-part of the rotor and hence the movement of its peripheral buckets exceeds a certain limit, implying an incomplete explosion or combustion of the gases, this residual velocity'is permitted to rush around the bypass duct in the auxiliary chamber a), to expend itself upon a further advanced bucket once or twice removed, by way of exemplifica'tion in this instance, with but a single intervening closed bucket b. Moreover, in case a partialvacuuni should be set up in the buckets, as they approach the exhaustopening, occasioning a resulting tendency of air to rush back and offer a detrimental resistanceto that bucket in momentary communication with the exhaust opening a", this auxiliary pressure to the sec-.

ondary-explosive velocity will efi'ectually ofiset, such tendency. In this way, the maximum energy in the form of velocity is utilized, and accordingly the desired eficiency of the turbine as a whole, attained.

Having fully described my invention, \what'l claim and desire to securevby Letters Patent is 1. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a casing having an outlet, a turbine rotor provided with buckets'and having a close mechanical fit within said casing, said outlet adapted to communicate with said buckets, an expansion chamber in successive communication with said buckets, agentswhereby the thermal energy of the working fluid is supplied as kinetic energy 'to saidchamber, and a second chamber having a pair of openings spaced a distance corresponding with the distance between alternate of said buckets, said buckets in turn being adapted to communicate simultane: ously with said chamber and one'such opening, then'simultaneou'sly with the otherof said openings and said outlet.

2. In an elastic fluid turbine, the COIIlbl-Ilfir tion of a casing having an exhaust outlet, a

- turbine' rotor provided with buckets and.

'having a close mechanical fit within said Vance of the communication of such bucket" with'said exhaust outlet and in advance of the communication with the latter of that following bucket which first received the motive fluid discharge coincident with its entry into said second chamber.

3. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing, a rotor having ,buckets and mounted for movement therein,

an explosion chamber adapted to communi cate with said .buckets and previded with a carbureted fuel inlet, an igniter, a fixed guide platev between said chamber and buckets and ofiering a close mechanical arcuate fit with the latter, a valve across said chamber, andmechanism for opening said valve in a direction toward said guide plate, whereby the-expansion of-the gases is converted into velocity of prescribed direction with relation tosaid buckets.

4:. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combina: tion of a suitable casing, a rotor having buckets and mounted for movement therein,

an expansion chamber in communication with said buckets, means for supporting a motor fluid to said chamber, an abutting member projecting into said chamber and tangentially to said rotor, a. valve for said chamber, said valve and member being respectively (provided with a registering pro jection an depression, and mechanism for operatingsaid valve.

- 5. llnan elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing, a rotor having buckets and mounted for movement therein, an expansion chamber inv communication withsaid buckets, means for. supplying a motive fluid to said chamber, an abutting member projecting into said chamber and conforming to said rotor, a valve pivotally mounted upon said member, a valve stem connected with said valva'means comprising a compression spring associated with said stem for maintaining saidvalve in its closed position, and mechanism for opening said valve. 1

6. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combinabuckets and mounted for movement therein, an explosion chamber, an expansion chem:

are

use

"tion of a suitable casing, a rotor having her commcating with said buckets, means K for providing a carbureted fuel to said explosion chamber, an igniter, an abutting member projecting into said expansion chamber and conforming to said rotor, a valve pivotally mounted upon said member, a valve stem connected with said valve, means comprising a spring surrounding said stem for closing said valve, means comprising another spring surrounding said stem for opening said valve, and mechanism comprising a cam for controlling the action of said last-mentioned spring.

7 In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing, a rotor having buckets and mounted for movement therein, an expansion chamber communicating with said buckets and formed interiorly with a valve seat, an abutting member projecting into said chamber at an angle to said valve seat, a valve pivotally mounted between said member and said seat, mechanism. for positively moving said valve with respect to said seat and an explosion chamber adapted to communicate through said valve with said expansion chamber.

8. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing, a rotor having buckets and mounted for movement therein, an expansion chamber adapted to communicate with said buckets, an explosion chamber, means for supplying a. carbureted mix-v ture thereto, an igniter, a valve extending entirely across said chambers, and mechanism including a valve stem extending into said explosion chamber for synchronously operating such valve and igniter.

9. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing having an exhaust opening, a rotor mounted for movement therein and provided With buckets adapted to communicating with said opening, an explosion chamber adapted to have communication with said buckets, a supply chamber, an inlet valve flexibly mounted between said chambers, a stem connected therewith, means comprising a spring surrounding said stem for closing said inlet valve, means comprising another spring surrounding said stem for opening said inlet valve, a discharge valve movably attached at one side'between said chamber for closing said explosion chamber, a stem flexibly connected therewith, means comprising a spring surround ing said stem for closing said discharge valve, means comprising another spring surrounding said stem for opening said discharge valve, a shaft, change speed mechanism operatively connecting said shaft and rotor, and means including cams on, said shaft for respectively controlling the action of said valve-opening springs, the arrange ment being such that the operation of said valves is synchronous.

10. In an elastic fluid turbine, the combination of a suitable casing having an exhaust opening, a rotor mounted for movement therein and provided with peripheral buckets communicating with said exhaust opening, a. ivater-jacketed explosion chamber adapted to have communication with said buckets, a supply chamber communicating with said explosion chamber and pro vided with an inlet for the carbureted air, a pivoted discharge valve for closing said explosion chamber and adapted to swing toward said buckets, a stem movably connected with said valve, a shaft, change-speed mechanism operatively connecting said shaft and rotor, means comprising a cam on said shaft for effecting the movement of said stem, a governor upon said shaft, a spark-advancing lever connected with said governor and distinct meansinterposed between said valve and rotor whereby to direct the gases relative to said rotor as initiated by said discharge valve. c

Signed by me, this 31st day of May, 1913.

MAX o. WEBER.

Attested by J. A. FOGLE, CURT B. MUELLER. 

